


Shadow Over Hellmouth

by Tuxedo_Mark



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Cheerleaders, Homophobic Language, Rewrite, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Wicca, Witchcraft, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28482306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tuxedo_Mark/pseuds/Tuxedo_Mark
Summary: A rewrite of the TV series. Tones down the campiness and witticism. Amps up the horror and Lovecraftian nature.
Relationships: Tara Maclay & Buffy Summers
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Shadow Over Hellmouth**

**Written by Mark Moore**

**"Welcome to the Hellmouth"**

**Based on the Episode Written by Joss Whedon**

Author's note: I'm a longtime _Buffy_ fan, having watched it from its beginning on The WB to its end on UPN. This fic is a rewrite of the series, a slimmed-down, streamlined, remixed retelling of the _Buffy_ saga.

This isn't a completely unrecognizable update or modernization of the series. The original time setting is retained. The characters are still recognizably the characters (with some differences!). Without giving too much away, I've toned down the campiness and witticism (I attended high school just before the series aired; teens are not that witty), amped up the Lovecraftian horror, and brought the characters down to Earth.

Each chapter will consist of anywhere from one to a few scenes, so it'll take a while for each individual story to conclude. I'm releasing it this way to have more frequent updates. I do plan to do the entire series (Goddess willing), so come along for the ride; there might just be some surprises in store.

The following story is copyright © 2021 by Mark Moore.

* * *

She had been having the nightmares a lot recently. They were always the same: an underground lair of some kind, a cemetery, visions of vampires, other demons, and various events and artifacts.

Buffy Summers woke up with a start. "Fuck!"

"Buffy?" her mother called from out in the hallway.

Buffy sat up in bed. "I'm up, Mom!"

"Don't wanna be late for your first day!"

Buffy sighed. "No. Wouldn't want that."

* * *

Joyce Summers pulled up in front of Sunnydale High School in her Jeep. "Okay!"

Buffy unfastened her seatbelt, opened the passenger door, and got out of the Jeep.

"Have a good time. I know you're gonna make friends right away; just think positive." Joyce gave Buffy a thumbs-up.

Buffy looked through the open car door and gave her mother a quick nod. She turned to go and closed the door behind her.

"And honey?"

Buffy looked back at her mom.

"Try not to get kicked out?"

"I promise."

"Okay."

Buffy faced the school and let out a deep breath. Joyce drove off.

* * *

Soon, Buffy walked into the main office. There was a receptionist sitting at the desk.

Buffy walked up to the desk. "Excuse me, I'm Buffy Summers, the new transfer student."

"Oh, yes, of course." The woman picked up the phone receiver and called the principal's office.

"Yes?"

"The new transfer student's here."

"Send her in."

She hung up. "You can go in."

"Thanks." Buffy walked over to Principal Flutie's office and opened the door. She walked into the office and closed the door behind her. "Hi."

Principal Flutie gestured at the chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat."

Buffy sat down. She noticed he had her school records.

He walked around the desk to his chair as he looked them over. "Buffy Summers, sophomore, late of Hemery High in Los Angeles." He sat down in his chair. "So what happened?"

Buffy didn't know how to start.

"Why'd you hit your gym teacher?"

"He was being a bully."

"Is that your excuse?"

"No." Buffy paused and sighed. "My parents had recently gotten divorced. The judge split up the kids. My mom got me, and my dad got my sister. I was so angry. I'm _still_ angry. That stupid gym teacher just made himself the perfect target. That's all."

"I see." He paused in thought for a while. "Welcome to Sunnydale! A clean slate, Buffy, that's what you get here. What's past is past."

"Thank you, sir."

"Buffy, don't worry; try to relax. We want to service your needs and help _you_ to respect _our_ needs. If you need help, we have an excellent guidance counselor."

Buffy nodded.

"Do you have your schedule?"

"Yeah, my mom picked it up for me already."

"Okay, well, good luck. I'll see you around."

Buffy nodded, stood up, and walked over to the door.

* * *

Buffy exited the main office. She opened her bookbag and rummaged through it as she walked into the hall right in front of a girl. The girl bumped into her, making her lose her grip on the bag and spill its contents.

"Oh! Sorry!" Buffy cried.

"That's okay."

Buffy looked down at the mess. "Shit..." She squatted down and started picking up her stuff.

The girl squatted down next to her and helped her gather her things. "Let me help you."

Buffy looked at the girl and smiled. "Thanks."

Buffy thought the girl was very beautiful; she had long blonde hair and blue eyes.

"I don't know you, do I?" the girl asked.

"I'm Buffy. I'm new."

The girl smiled. "I'm Tara."

They finished gathering up everything.

Buffy put her items back in her bag and smiled. "Thanks."

"Any time. I'll see you around."

"Great!" Buffy exclaimed, perhaps too enthusiastically.

They stood up.

"It was nice to meet you." Buffy turned and started walking down the hall.

* * *

In World History class, Buffy was half-listening to the teacher talk about the Black Death and taking notes. A beautiful girl was seated next to her and also taking notes; she had long brown hair and dark brown eyes.

"If you'll look at the map on page 63, you can trace the spread of the disease into Rome, and then north..."

Buffy didn't have a book and looked around for help. The girl noticed and shared her book.

Buffy smiled. "Thanks."

The bell rang. The other students got up to leave.

"No homework. Finish reading the chapter by tomorrow."

The girl smiled at Buffy. "Hi! I'm Cordelia." She offered her hand.

Buffy accepted it. "I'm Buffy."

"If you're looking for a textbook of your very own, there's probably a few in the library. You can borrow one until you get a permanent copy."

"Oh, great, thanks."

They stood up.

"Where would that be?" Buffy asked her.

"I'll show you, come on."

They walked out of the classroom.

"So you're from Hemery, right? In L.A.?" Cordelia asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"Oh, I would _kill_ to live in L.A.; that close to that many shoes?"

Buffy had to laugh at the absurdity of that statement.

"Well, you'll be okay here. If you hang with me and mine, you'll be accepted in no time. Of course, we do have to test your coolness factor. You're from L.A., so you can skip the written, but let's see. Vamp nail polish."

"Huh?"

"Exactly! So over. James Spader."

Buffy was confused. "That's an actor, right?"

Cordelia was displeased and made a face. "Ooh, yikes! Frappuccinos."

"I'm not into coffee."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. John Tesh."

"Who?" Buffy asked.

" _That's_ the right attitude! You passed!"

Buffy forced a smile. "Oh, goody!"

They turned toward a drinking fountain. Tara was there. She straightened up and saw them coming.

"Willow! Nice jeans! Good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears."

Tara stared at her in annoyance. "The name's Tara, and my dad picked it out."

"No wonder you're such a guy magnet."

Tara frowned at her. "Fuck you."

"Oh, I _bet_ you'd like that, but I'm not a dyke. Are you done?"

Tara looked at the fountain and then back at Cordelia. She turned and left without a word.

Buffy watched her go. "That was horrible of you."

"You wanna fit in here, the first rule is: know your losers." Cordelia took a drink from the fountain.

"She's not a loser. She's nice...and sweet...and kind."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. Tara walked through the door at the end of the hall and looked back at them before disappearing from sight.

Buffy and Cordelia continued their walk to the library.

"And if you're not too swamped with catching up, you should come by the Bronze tonight."

"The what?"

"The Bronze. It's the only club worth going to around here. They let anybody in, but it's still the scene. It's in the bad part of town."

"Where's that?"

They stopped outside the library doors.

"About a half-block from the good part of town." Cordelia laughed. "We don't have a whole lot of town here. But, um, you should show!"

"Well, I'll try." Buffy looked toward the library. "Uh, thanks."

"Good. So, um, I'll see you in gym, and you can tell me absolutely everything there is to know about you." Cordelia waved and walked off.

Buffy waved back. "Great!" She looked away. "Oh, that sounds like fun."

She went into the library and looked around. It looked deserted.

"Hello? Is anybody here?" Buffy called.

She looked on the counter and saw a newspaper with a picture that's been circled. The caption above the picture read 'Local Boys Still Missing'. Someone came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around, startled.

"Ooh!" Buffy exhaled. "Anybody's here!"

It was an older man with short black hair, blue eyes, and glasses.

"Can I help you?"

And he was British.

"I was looking for some, well, books. I'm new."

"Miss Summers?"

"Good call! Guess I'm the only new kid, huh?"

"I'm Mr. Giles. The librarian. I was told you were coming." He headed around behind the counter.

"Great! So, um, I'm gonna need _Perspectives on 20th Century-_ "

"I know what you're after!" With a big grin on his face, he pulled out a large old book with the word _VAMPYR_ written in gold leaf on the front cover.

Buffy looked up at him with an uneasy gaze. "That's not what I'm looking for."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm way sure."

Giles was confused. "My mistake." He put the book back behind the counter.

Buffy quickly walked out of the library.


	2. Chapter 2

After eating lunch, Buffy left the cafeteria and walked outside. She saw Tara sitting under a tree and taking out her lunch.

Buffy approached her. "Hi, Tara."

Tara looked up. "Hi."

"May I join you?"

"Sure."

Buffy sat to her right and set down her bookbag. "If you don't mind, I want to ask you for a favor. It involves hanging out with me for a while."

"What is it?"

"I kinda have this burning desire not to flunk all my classes, and I heard a rumor that you were the person to talk to if I wanted to get caught up."

"Oh, I could totally help you out! Uh, if you have sixth period free, we could meet in the library?"

"Or not. Or we could meet someplace quieter. Louder. Uh, that place just kinda gives me the wiggins."

"Oh, it has that effect on most kids. I love it, though; it's a great collection, and the new librarian is really cool."

"He's new?" Buffy asked her.

"Yeah, he just started. He was a curator at some British museum - or _the_ British Museum; I'm not sure. But he knows everything, and he brought all these historical volumes and biographies."

"Cool. Hey, how come Cordelia called you 'Willow' earlier?"

Tara pointed up at the tree. "Because I like to sit under this willow tree while eating lunch. Stupid nickname from an idiot."

"Ah. So what do you do for fun?"

Tara shrugged. "Read, watch TV, go online, listen to music. The usual. You?"

"Same."

"I also take karate."

"Oh. I took karate back in L.A.; it was pretty fun."

"Well, maybe you can join my class."

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, maybe. And you should come to the Bronze tonight."

Tara frowned a bit at the thought of it but then nodded. "Okay."

"Is she bothering you?"

Buffy looked and saw Cordelia standing in front of them. "Not at all. I'm enjoying her company."

Cordelia frowned at Buffy. "Whatever. I don't mean to interrupt your downward mobility, but I just wanted to tell you that you won't be meeting Coach Foster, the woman with the chest hair, because gym was canceled due to the _extreme_ dead guy in the locker."

"What?" Buffy asked.

"What are you talking about?" Tara asked.

"Some guy was stuffed in Aura's locker!"

Buffy frowned, worried. "Dead."

"Totally dead. Way dead."

"How did he die?" Buffy asked her.

"I don't know."

"Well, were there any marks?" Buffy pressed.

"Morbid much! I didn't ask!"

Buffy picked up her bookbag and stood up. "Um, I gotta book. I'll see you girls later." She walked away in a hurry.

Cordelia stared after her. "What's her deal?"

Tara stared after Buffy.

* * *

Buffy sneaked up to an outside entrance of the gym and tried opening the door. It was locked. She pulled with all of her strength. Suddenly, the door broke. She stared at it for a moment, surprised, but then she went in, looking around to make sure no one saw her.

She entered the girls' locker room. She found the body and pulled back the sheet.

Buffy saw two puncture wounds on the boy's neck. She stared in silence for a moment before leaving.

* * *

After school, Buffy barged into the library. "Okay, what's the sitch?"

"Sorry?" Giles called from somewhere among stacks of books.

"You heard about the dead guy, right? The dead guy in the locker?"

Giles stepped into the light. "Yes."

She dropped her bag on a table and headed up the stairs. "'Cause it's the weirdest thing. He's got two little, little holes in his neck, and all his blood's been drained." She walked up to him. "Isn't that bizarre? Aren't you just going 'Ooh'?"

"I was afraid of this."

"Afraid of _what_?" Buffy asked him.

Giles was in silent thought.

"That book that you showed me earlier. Is this a vampire attack?"

Giles stared blankly, deep in thought.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Buffy finally demanded.

Giles finally looked at her. "Yes, it's a vampire, and you're not prepared to face it."

Buffy was surprised. "Face it?"

"Yes, it's your destiny, but you're not up to speed. Our fault. I need to get you ready."

"Wait, wait! It's my first day! I was afraid that I was gonna be behind in all my classes, that I wouldn't make any friends, that I would have last month's hair. I didn't think there'd be vampires on campus. So...bye." Buffy turned away to go.

"Is he - w-will he...rise again?"

Buffy turned back to look at him. "How the fuck would _I_ know?"

"To make you a vampire, they have to suck your blood, and then _you_ have to suck _their_ blood."

"So it's like a whole big sucking thing." Buffy paused in thought. "Then I doubt it. His body was pale, like it had been completely drained of blood, and I didn't see any blood on his lips."

Giles nodded. "Good."

Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, _not_ good, but, that is..." Giles paused to collect his thoughts. "Mostly, they're just going to kill their victims in order to feed."

"Makes sense." Then she thought for a moment. "Why am I still talking to you?" Buffy turned and walked down the stairs.

Giles moved over to the railing. "You really have no idea what's going on, do you? You think it's coincidence, your being here? That boy was just the beginning."

"Oh, why can't you just leave me alone?" Buffy asked him, exhausted.

"Because you are the Slayer." Giles walked down the stairs. "Into each generation, a Slayer is born, one girl in all the world, a Chosen One, one born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil."

"Not interested."

"Selfish girl."

"Yeah, well, maybe I am. So what?" Buffy asked.

Giles paused in thought for a moment. "What do you know about this town?" He went into his office.

"It's two hours on the freeway from Neiman Marcus?"

"Dig a bit in the history of this place. You'll find a - a steady stream of fairly odd occurrences. Now, I believe this whole area is a center of mystical energy." Giles came back out with four books. "That things gravitate towards it that - that - that you might not find elsewhere." He set the books on the table.

"Like vampires."

He put the volumes into Buffy's arms one by one. "Like zombies, werewolves, incubi, succubi, everything you've ever dreaded was under your bed but told yourself couldn't be by the light of day. They're all real!"

"What? You, like, sent away for the Time-Life series?"

"Uh, w-w-w-yes."

"Did you get the free phone?"

"Um, the calendar."

"Cool!" Buffy gave back the books. "But I can't do this. Hey, I know! Why don't _you_ kill 'em? You know much more about this shit than _I_ do."

"I-I'm a Watcher. I - I haven't the skill-"

"Oh, come on, stake through the heart, a little sunlight. It's like falling off a log."

"A - A Slayer slays. A Watcher-"

"-watches?" Buffy finished.

"Yes. No!" Giles set down the books. "He - He trains her. He - He - He prepares her."

"Prepares me for what? For having to spend all of my time fighting for my life? For the inevitable confrontation that ends up getting me killed? Go ahead! Prepare me!" Buffy yelled.

They just looked at each other for a moment.

Finally, Buffy exhaled, turned, picked up her bookbag, and left the library in disgust.

Giles hesitated for an instant. "Damn!" He ran after Buffy.

After they were gone, unseen by either of them, Tara walked out from behind the stacks in shock.

* * *

Out in the hall, Giles caught up with Buffy. "It's getting worse!"

" _What's_ getting worse?" Buffy asked.

He guided her over to the wall. "The influx of the undead, the...supernatural occurrences; it's been building for years. There's a reason why you're here and a reason why it's now!"

"Because now is the time my mom moved here."

She tried to evade him, but he put his arm out to stop her.

"Something's coming. Something - Something - Something is - is gonna happen here. Soon!"

"Gee, can you vague that up for me?"

"The signs, as far as I can tell, point to a crucial mystical upheaval...very soon. Days. Possibly less."

"Oh, come on! This is Sunnydale! How bad an evil can there _be_ here?"

Giles paused and then tried a different approach. "How much fighting experience do you have?"

"Practical?" Buffy asked. "Not much, but I'm eighth kyu in karate."

Giles was confused. "Is that good?"

Buffy made a face and shrugged. "Eh. But my new friend, Tara, also takes karate and has asked me to join her class."

Giles nodded. "Good, you should. I'm not good at teaching fighting, anyway. I'll see to the more...academic aspects of your training. If you're free-"

"I'm not. I have plans."

He sighed. "Buffy-"

"Sorry. Listen, I gotta go, but it's been _so_ fun chatting with you." Buffy turned and walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

That evening, in Buffy's bedroom, Buffy changed outfits and checked herself out in the mirror.

Her mother came into the room. "Hi, hon."

Buffy looked at her. "Hey!"

"Are you, uh, going out tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm going to a club."

"Oh. Will there be boys there?"

"No, Mom. It's a nun club."

"Well, just be careful."

"I will."

"You know, I think we can make it work here. I've got my positive energy flowing. I'm gonna get the gallery on its feet. Oh, uh, we may have found a space today."

"That's great."

"Oh, and that school is a - a very nurturing environment, which is just what you need."

"Well, actually-"

"Oh, not _too_ nurturing. I know, I've read all about the dangers of over-nurturing. It's hard. New town and everything. It is for me, too. I'm trying to make it work." Joyce took her daughter's hands in hers. "I'm _going_ to make it work."

"I know."

"Oh, you're a good girl, Buffy." Joyce patted her on the head. "You just fell into some bad habits. But that is all behind us now."

"It is."

They let go of each other's hands.

"Okay. You have fun."

* * *

Buffy was walking down a dark street. She sensed she was being followed. After walking for a while, when she got a chance, she ducked down an alley and looked around for a place to hide. A cat yowled and kicked some cans as it ran away. Buffy spied a bar above her. In desperation, she jumped and was surprised when she was able to grab hold of it. She pulled herself up and did a handstand on the bar.

A man with short black hair and dressed almost entirely in black came into the alley but seemingly didn't see her. He slowly walked along and passed underneath her. She swung down and kicked him in the back, knocking him to the ground. Buffy positioned herself above him with a foot on his chest.

"Uh, heh. Is there a problem, ma'am?"

"Yeah, there's a problem. Why are you following me?"

"I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, I don't bite."

She backed off and let him get up, but she kept her fighting stance.

"You're pretty spry." He massaged his neck.

"What do you want?"

"The same thing you do."

"Okay. What do _I_ want?"

He stepped toward her. "To kill them. To kill them all."

"Sorry, that's incorrect. What I want is to be left alone!" She started a determined walk away.

"Do you really think that's an option anymore? You're standing at the Mouth of Hell. And it's about to open."

She stopped, turned to him, and looked at him with a wide-eyed gaze.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small box. "Don't turn your back on this."

He tossed her the box. She caught it.

"You've gotta be ready."

"What for?"

"For the Harvest."

"Who are you?"

"Let's just say...I'm a friend." He started to leave.

"Yeah, well, maybe I don't _want_ a friend."

He turned back to face her. "I didn't say I was _yours_." He turned and left.

Buffy stared after him for a moment, then she opened the box. It contained a silver cross pendant and chain. She took it out, held it in her hand, and took another glance in his direction. He was gone.

* * *

Buffy put on the cross necklace and went to the Bronze. People were arriving and meeting. Buffy walked up to the entrance, gave the doorman some cash, and went inside.

A band was performing loudly on the stage, and the dance floor was crowded with people.

Buffy saw a guy waving in her direction and waved back, but then she noticed someone behind her waving back and put her hand down, embarrassed.

She found the bar and saw Tara sitting there, drinking a cola.

"Hey!" Buffy greeted.

Tara smiled. "Hi!"

Buffy walked around her and sat on the stool next to her.

Tara turned to face her. "What do you think of the place?"

Buffy shrugged. "Eh, a little too loud for my taste. I can't say I care for the music either."

Tara nodded. "Same."

Buffy looked closer at Tara. "Cute banana."

Tara blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Your pendant."

"Oh, it's not a banana; it's a crescent moon."

Buffy laughed in embarrassment. "Oh. Sorry."

Tara smiled. "It's okay."

"Any particular meaning behind it?" Buffy asked her.

"Well, I'm a Wiccan, and I figured this would cause me less problems at school than a pentacle."

Buffy was confused. "Is that like a Popsicle?"

Tara laughed. "No, it's a pentagram - a five-pointed star - with a circle around it."

"Oh. So is Wicca like...witchcraft or something?" Buffy asked.

Tara shrugged. "Depends on who you ask, but there's definitely overlap, and I'm a witch, too, so...yeah."

"So you cast spells? Do magic?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah. Just low-level stuff for now. Mostly, I can make candle flames flicker."

Buffy nodded. "Cool. So you don't want people to find out?"

Tara shrugged. "Well, I generally don't tell people, but I also don't go out of my way to hide it. I just like to avoid confrontation."

Buffy nodded.

"You, on the other hand, well, you don't seem too shy, wearing that big cross."

Buffy had completely forgotten about the cross and briefly looked down at it. "Oh, this? I just got it." She shook her head. "Never mind. Well, my philosophy..." She paused. "Do you wanna hear my philosophy?"

"Sure."

"Life is short."

"Life is short."

"Not original, I'll grant you, but it's true, you know? Why waste time being all shy and worrying about what people think of you? Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead."

Tara nodded. "I see your point, but it's also important not to do anything stupid."

"True." Buffy looked up and saw Giles on the upper level. "Um, I'll be back in a minute." She stood up.

"Okay."

Buffy walked over to the stairs and up them. She found Giles. "So...you like to party with the students. Isn't that kinda skanky?"

"Oh, right, this is me having fun. Watching...clown hair prance about is hardly my idea of a party. I'd much rather be at home with a cup of Bovril and a good book."

"You need a personality, stat!"

Giles pointed to the crowd below. "This is a perfect breeding ground for vampire activity. It's dark, it's crowded..." He trailed off. "Besides, I knew you were likely to show up, and I have to make you understand-"

"-that the Harvest is coming. I know, your friend told me."

"What did you say?"

"The Harvest. That mean something to you? 'Cause I'm drawing a blank."

"I'm not sure. Uh...w-who told you this?"

"This...guy. Dark, gorgeous in an annoying sort of way. I figured you two were buds."

"No. The Harvest. Did he say anything else?"

"Something about the Mouth of Hell. I _really_ didn't like him!"

Giles moved around Buffy, leaned on the railing, and looked down at the crowd. "Look at them, throwing themselves about, completely unaware of the danger that surrounds them."

"Lucky them."

"Or perhaps you're right. Perhaps there is no trouble coming. The signs could be wrong. It's not as though you've been having the nightmares."

Buffy kept her mouth shut.

* * *

Down below, Cordelia was hanging out with her friends and engaging in a mostly one-sided conversation.

"My mom doesn't even _get_ out of bed anymore, and the doctor says it's Epstein-Barr. I'm like pleeease! It's chronic hepatitis - or at least chronic fatigue syndrome. I mean _nobody_ cool has Epstein-Barr anymore."

A boy walked over to her. "Hey, Cordelia!"

Cordelia frowned at him. "Do I know you?"

"Jesse. Hey, you, uh, you look great!"

"Well, I'm glad we had this little chat."

Jesse coughed. "Listen, uh, you know, you wanna dance, you know?"

"With you?"

"Well, uh, yeah."

"Well, uh, no! C'mon, guys."

Cordelia and her friends left.

* * *

"You have, haven't you?" Giles asked Buffy.

Buffy remained silent a while longer and then sighed. "Yeah. Okay, listen, I'm willing to slay vampires. It's not like I have all these fluffy bunny feelings for them. I'm just not gonna get way extracurricular with it, you know? If I see one, sure, I'll-"

"Will you be ready?" Giles asked her. "There's so much you don't know about them, about your own powers. A vampire appears to be completely normal until the feed is upon them. Only then do they reveal their fangs."

"A lot of good _that'll_ do me."

"A Slayer should be able to see them, anyway. Without looking, without thinking. Can you tell me if there's a vampire in this building?"

"Maybe-"

"You should know. Even through this mass and this...din, you should be able to sense them. Well, try! Reach out with your mind."

Buffy looked around.

"You have to hone your senses, focus until the energy washes over you, until you - you feel every particle o-of-"

Buffy pointed. "There's one."

"W-Where?"

"Right there, talking to that girl."

"You don't know-"

"Oh, please! Look at his jacket. He's got the sleeves rolled up. And the shirt! Deal with that outfit for a moment."

"It's dated?" Giles asked.

"It's _carbon_ dated. Trust me, only someone living underground for ten years would think _that_ was still the look."

"But you didn't...hone."

The guy and girl started walking away together.

"Oh, no." Buffy started down the steps to rescue the girl.

Giles was at a loss for what to do.

Buffy lost track of them. She tried the back. She broke a leg off a stack of chairs and began to stalk.

Cordelia came out of the restroom and surprised her. Buffy reacted, taking Cordelia by the throat and pushing her up against a wall.

Buffy then recognized her. "Cordelia!" She let her go.

"God! What is your childhood trauma?!" Cordelia demanded.

Her friends appeared in the restroom door behind her.

"Sorry." Buffy turned and left.

Cordelia briefly looked at her groupies and took out her cell phone. "Excuse me, I have to call _everyone_ I have _ever_ met, right now."

Giles caught up with Buffy on the main floor. "That _was_ quick. Well done! I-I need to go to the library. This Harvest thing-"

"I didn't find them!" Buffy cried.

He grabbed Buffy by the arm and turned her to face him. "The vampire is not dead?"

"No, but my social life is on the critical list."

Giles let go of her. "So what do we do?"

"I'll take care of it!"

"I-I-I need to come with you, yes?"

"And do what?" Buffy asked him. "Don't worry. One vampire, I can handle." She turned and walked away.

Buffy exited the Bronze and searched for the girl.

Tara came outside. "Hey, you're leaving already?"

"Oh, Tara! Yeah, sorry. I'm looking for a girl. She left with a guy. I need to find her. Where would he take her?"

"Why?" Tara asked her. "Oh, hey, I hope he's not a vampire, because then you might have to slay him."

Buffy was taken aback. "Was there a - a school bulletin? Was it i-in the newspaper? Is there anyone in this town who _doesn't_ know I'm the Slayer?"

"I was in the library. I overheard your conversation with Mr. Giles."

Buffy sighed. "It's true. Just tell me, where would they go? We don't find her, and there's gonna be one more dead body in the morning!"

"Well, he's a vampire, right?" Tara paused to allow Buffy to come to the obvious conclusion.


	4. Chapter 4

Buffy and Tara went to the cemetery and entered a mausoleum that they heard conversation coming from. There were four people in there: the girl and guy that Buffy saw leave together, another blonde girl, and a boy with black hair. The latter boy obviously had been bitten on the neck. Everyone else appeared to be unharmed.

"Well, this is nice. I-It's a little bare, but a dash of paint, a few throw pillows...call it home!" Buffy moved behind the coffin to draw the vampires away from the others.

"Who the hell are you?" the blonde woman asked, clearly showing her fangs.

"You mean there's actually someone in this town who doesn't know already?" Buffy asked her. "Whew, that's a relief, I'm telling you! Having a secret identity in this town is a job of work."

"Help me!" the human girl begged.

"Prepare to die!" the male vampire exclaimed.

"Okay, first of all, what's with the outfit? Live in the now, okay? You look like DeBarge!" Buffy told him.

The vampires closed in on her.

Buffy turned to the female vampire. "Now, we can do this the hard way or...well, actually, there's just the hard way."

"That's fine with me!"

"Are you sure? Now, this is not gonna be pretty. We're talking violence, strong language, adult content-"

The male vampire roared behind Buffy. She pulled the chair leg out from inside her shirt. He attacked from behind, but Buffy crudely jammed the makeshift stake into his chest. He fell to the floor. Buffy turned around and thrust the stake into his heart. He died, a look of shock on his face. Everyone stared at the scene in horror.

Buffy was shaken but forcefully composed herself. "See what happens when you roughhouse?"

"He was young and stupid!" the female vampire exclaimed.

"Tara, get them out of here!" Buffy ordered.

"Right!" Tara ran over to the girl and boy. "C'mon!"

"Don't go far!" the female vampire told them.

She and Buffy started to fight. She punched high, but Buffy blocked. Tara helped the girl pick up the boy. The female vampire threw a backhand punch, but Buffy blocked again and followed up with a front snap kick to her stomach. As she leaned forward from the pain, Buffy slammed her elbow into the vampire's back. Tara and the girl helped the boy out, and they started to run. The vampire hit the wall and fell to the floor, winded.

Buffy sighed. "You know, I just wanted to start over. Be like everybody else. Have some friends, y'know, maybe a dog. But, no, you had to come here; you couldn't go suck on some other town."

"Who are you?" the vampire asked her.

"Don't you know?" Buffy asked her, surprised.

Suddenly, a male vampire grabbed Buffy by the neck from behind. "I don't care!" He threw her across the room. He grabbed the female vampire and lifted her to her feet. "You were supposed to be bringing an offering for the Master! We're almost at Harvest, and you dally with this child!"

"We had someone, but then she came. She killed Thomas. Luke, she's strong."

"You go, Darla. I'll see if I can handle the little girl."

He approached Buffy as she started to get up, still a little dazed. Darla quickly climbed the steps, looked back once, and ran out of the door. Luke attacked Buffy with a double punch, but she blocked it and delivered a punch to his gut and a hopping front snap kick to his jaw. He stepped back but wasn't fazed.

"You're strong." He landed a solid backhand fist on her, sending her flying. "I'm stronger!"

* * *

Outside, Tara and the girl were supporting the boy as they ran through the cemetery.

"We'll get the police; it's just a few blocks up!" Tara told them.

They were stopped and surrounded by a group of vampires, including Darla.

* * *

Back in the mausoleum, Luke was getting impatient. "You're wasting my time."

Buffy backed away, up the stairs, toward the exit. "Hey, I had other plans, too, okay?"

Luke shoved the heavy lid off the coffin. Buffy did a cartwheel onto and over it to avoid it and kicked Luke in the chest with both feet, knocking him down. She pulled the stake out of Thomas' body and lunged at Luke, but he was too quick for her and grabbed her by the wrist.

"You think you can stop me? Stop us?" He grabbed the stake with his other hand and broke it. Then he grabbed her by the shirt. "You have no idea what you're dealing with."

He threw Buffy onto the rim of the now open coffin. She rolled off, onto the floor, dazed.

Luke got up and started toward her. "'And like a plague of boils, the race of man covered the Earth, but on the third day of the newest light would come the Harvest, and the blood of men will flow as wine, when the Master will walk among them once more! The Earth will belong to the Old Ones.'" Luke got in her face. "'And Hell itself will come to town.'"

He grabbed Buffy and growled. He lifted her by the throat and threw her toward the coffin. Buffy did a front layout and landed in the coffin next to a skeleton, and she let out a quick scream but then remained silent, only breathing. She couldn't see or hear Luke. She slowly started to get up.

Suddenly, Luke jumped up and into the coffin. He smiled widely. "Amen!"

Luke tried to bite Buffy but burned himself on the cross hanging around her neck and jerked back. Buffy seized the opportunity and push-kicked him out of the coffin. She climbed out of it and raced outside. She ran to catch up with Tara and the others. She heard a vampire roar and a girl screaming and ran toward the sounds.

Tara was on the ground, about to be bitten. "No! Get off!" She tried punching the vampire that was upon her.

"Hey!"

The vampire looked up, and Buffy snap-kicked him off Tara. He got up and ran away. Tara was shocked by what she saw. Buffy quickly started the hunt again.

"Hey, assholes!" Tara called in desperation.

The vampires were distracted. Buffy took advantage of the opening and jumped in, high-punched one, and side-kicked the other. She noticed a dry branch on a tree and broke it off. As one of the vampires got up, she plunged the stick into his chest. Then she quickly killed the other.

Buffy looked around. She saw the girl that she had come to rescue nearby, and she saw Tara, but that was it.

"Where's the guy that was bleeding?" Buffy asked Tara.

"I don't know! They surrounded us. I think that vampire girl grabbed him and took off."

"Which way?"

"I don't know."

Buffy looked to the girl. "Did _you_ see where they went?"

The girl shook her head. "No, sorry."

Buffy stood up straight and slowly scanned the cemetery - to no avail.


	5. Chapter 5

**"The Harvest"**

**Based on the Episode Written by Joss Whedon**

The following story is copyright © 2021 by Mark Moore.

* * *

The next day, after they had eaten lunch, Buffy and Tara went to the library to meet with Giles, who they had already informed of the most recent events on the night before. Tara found last year's yearbook and scanned the photos until she found the boy that had been taken: Jesse McNally. Buffy and Tara were hoping Giles had devised a plan of action. What they got instead was a history lesson. Buffy paid only partial attention to it, devoting the rest of her attention to examining the wooden stakes and bottles of holy water that Giles had given her.

Giles spun the globe dramatically and then stopped it. He made his way down to where Buffy and Tara were sitting at a table. "This world is older than either of you know. Contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons, demons walked the Earth. They made it their home, their...their Hell. But in time they lost their purchase on this reality. The way was made for mortal animals, for - for man. All that remains of the Old Ones are vestiges, certain magicks, certain creatures-"

"And vampires."

Giles looked at Buffy and nodded.

"So vampires are demons?" Tara asked Giles.

"The books tell the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed, infected by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another, and so they walk the Earth, feeding, killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind, waiting for the animals to die out - and the Old Ones to return."

Buffy thought about that in silence, an unease coming over her. "Does that mean...humanity is futile? That our lives amount to nothing? Because the entire human race will just get wiped out someday?"

Giles paused in thought, trying to find words to assure the girl. "No, Buffy, no. For as long as there have been vampires, there's been the Slayer. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. The Slayer hunts vampires. Buffy is a Slayer. Don't tell anyone, either of you."

"We won't." Buffy paused in thought. "Well, there was that girl that I rescued last night, but...who'd believe her, y'know?"

Giles sighed and looked squarely at Tara. "Well, I think that's all the vampire information you need."

"Except for one thing: how do you kill them?" Tara asked him.

Buffy gave her a sharp look. " _You_ don't. _I_ do."

"I can help. Jesse might need-"

"Jesse is my responsibility. I let him get taken."

"You're being too hard on yourself. If you hadn't shown up, they would have taken the girl, too."

Buffy thought about that and felt a bit of comfort. She looked at Giles. "This big guy, Luke. He talked about an offering to the Master. Now, I don't know what or who, but if they weren't just feeding, then Jesse may still be alive. I'm gonna find him."

"Shouldn't we call the police?" Tara asked.

Giles gave her a look. "And they'd believe us, of course."

"Well, we don't have to say vampires. We could just say there's a bad man."

Buffy looked at her. "They couldn't handle it even if they _did_ show up. They'd only come with guns."

"You have no idea where they took Jesse?" Giles asked her.

"I looked around, but soon's they got clear of the graveyard, they could have just - voom!"

"They can fly?" Tara asked her.

"Well, I was going for drive."

"Oh." Tara thought for a moment. "I don't remember hearing a car."

"Let's take an enormous intuitive leap, shall we, and say they went underground."

Buffy looked at Giles and then thought about what he'd said. "Yeah. Vampires really jam on sewer systems. You can get anywhere in the entire town without catching any rays. But I didn't see any access around there."

Tara looked at her. "Well, there's an electrical tunnel that runs under the whole town."

"If we had a diagnostic of the tunnel system, it might indicate a - a meeting place. It would, uh...I suppose we could go to the Building Commission."

Buffy was getting impatient. "We _so_ don't have time."

"Uh, guys?" Tara asked. "There may be another way."

Buffy and Giles looked at her.

"May I use the computer?" Tara asked Giles.

"Of course."

Tara walked over to the computer and sat down. Buffy and Giles walked over and watched as she connected to the Internet and then brought up the city plans on the computer monitor.

Buffy nodded. "There it is."

"That runs under the graveyard." Tara looked closely. "I don't see any access."

"So...all the city plans are just, uh, open to the public?" Giles asked her.

"Um, well, i-in a way. I sort of stumbled onto them when I accidentally decrypted the city council's security system."

Buffy smiled in amusement. "Someone's been naughty." She quickly grew impatient, though. "There's nothing here! This is useless!"

Giles looked at her. "I think you're being a bit hard on yourself."

"You're the one that told me that I wasn't prepared enough. Understatement!" Buffy sighed. "I thought I was on top of everything, and then that monster, Luke, came out of nowhere..." She paused as she thought back to the fight in the mausoleum.

"What?" Tara asked her.

"He didn't come out of nowhere. He came from behind me. I was facing the entrance, he came from behind me, and he didn't follow me out. The access to the tunnels is in the mausoleum! The girl must have doubled back with Jesse after I got out! God! I am so mentally challenged!"

"So what's the plan?" Tara asked her. "We go and rescue Jesse, right?"

"There's no 'we', okay? I'm the Slayer, and you're not."

Tara was hurt. "I can take care of myself, and I can help you."

"Tara, this is deeply dangerous."

"Buffy, I'm not anxious to go into a dark place full of monsters. But I do want to help. I _need_ to."

Giles looked at her. "Well, then help _me_. I've been researching this Harvest affair. It seems to be some sort of preordained massacre. Rivers of blood, Hell on Earth, quite charmless. I'm a bit fuzzy, however, on the details. It may be that you can wrest some information from that dread machine."

Tara and Buffy stared at him.

He looked back at them. "That was a bit, um, British, wasn't it?"

Buffy smiled. "Welcome to the New World."

Giles looked at Tara. "I want you to go on the 'Net."

"Oh, sure, I can do that." Tara began to type.

"Then I'm outta here. If Jesse's alive, I'll bring him back." Buffy started to leave.

"Do I have to tell you to be careful?" Giles asked her.

Buffy turned back, gave Giles a look, and left.

* * *

Outside, Buffy made strides for a side gate.

"And where do we think we're going?" Mr. Flutie asked her.

"We?" Buffy turned to face him. "I...Me..."

"We're not leaving school grounds, are we?"

"No! No, I'm...just admiring the fence. You know, this is quality fence work."

"Because if we were leaving school grounds on our second day at a new school, after getting kicked out of our old school for delinquent behavior..." He paused. "Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Mr. Giles."

"What?"

"He asked me to get a book for him. Uh, from the store, 'cause I'm a big reader. Did it mention that in my transcripts?"

"Mr. Giles?"

"Ask him."

Mr. Flutie swung the gate closed. "Well, maybe that's how they do things in _Britain_ ; they've got that royal family and all kinds of problems." He locked the gate. "But, here at Sunnydale, nobody leaves campus while school's in session. Are we clear?"

"We're clear."

" _That's_ the Buffy Summers I want in my school. Sensible girl with her feet on the ground!" He turned and left.

Buffy watched him go. When he'd gone a ways, she crouched and tried leaping the fence. She had no idea if she could do it or not, and she was surprised when she was successful.

* * *

Back in the library, Giles looked at Tara. "Thank you for your assistance. You should get to class."

Tara stood up, pensive.

"Buffy will be okay. Whatever's down there, I think she can handle it."

"I hope so."

Giles sighed. "If you must go, go!"

Tara took off running.

* * *

Buffy came into the mausoleum slowly, looking and listening. She scanned around. Satisfied that no one was there, she walked down the steps to the floor. She heard a rat behind her and twisted to look toward the sound. She continued and found the tunnel access. It was locked with a chain. She lifted the lock. She then heard a man sigh behind her.

"I don't suppose you've got a key on you?" Buffy asked him.

"They really don't like me dropping in."

Buffy turned to face the man from last night. "Why not?"

"They really don't like me."

"How could that possibly be?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"I knew you'd figure out this entryway sooner or later. Actually, I thought it was gonna be a _little_ sooner."

"Sorry you had to wait." Buffy sighed. "Okay, look, if you're gonna be popping up with this cryptic wise man act on a regular basis, can you at least tell me your name?"

"Angel."

"Angel. It's a pretty name." Buffy turned to the tunnel entrance.

"Don't...go down there."

Buffy turned back to face him. "Deal with my going."

"You shouldn't be putting yourself at risk. Tonight is the Harvest. Unless you can prevent it, the Master walks."

"Well, if this Harvest thing is such a suckfest, why don't _you_ stop it?"

"'Cause I'm afraid."

Buffy looked at him for a moment and then spun around quickly, kicking open the doors to the tunnel. She turned back to him.

"They'll be expecting you."

"Someone that I let get taken is down there. I'm trying to fix my mistake. Do you understand?"

Angel lowered his eyes as a look of sadness filled them.

"That wasn't supposed to be a stumper."

They looked at each other a moment longer.

"When you hit the tunnels, head east towards the school. That's where you're likely to find them."

"You gonna wish me luck?"

Angel said nothing. They looked at each other for another moment, then Buffy turned and headed into the tunnels.


	6. Chapter 6

Inside the tunnels, Buffy came down a flight of stairs. She looked around. She heard rats. One crawled across her shoes. She slowly started down the tunnels. There were lights at intervals.

"Did you see anything?"

Buffy exhaled in fright. "Tara, what are you doing here?!"

"I followed you."

"Well, you-"

"I couldn't just stay behind and do nothing. I'd just worry, and...I _need_ to help you."

Buffy stared at Tara for a moment, considering it, then nodded her head for her to follow. They started down the tunnel and soon reached the top of some stairs.

* * *

Back in the library, Giles was reading from a volume: "'For they will gather and be gathered. From the Vessel pours life.' P-Pours life..." He turned the page back to a picture of Satan feeding power to a man. "'On the night of the crescent moon, the first past the solstice, it will come...' Of course. That's tonight!"

* * *

In the computer lab. Cordelia was struggling with her assignment. "No! It's supposed to find the syntax and match it. Or wait..."

"Are we going to the Bronze tonight?" Harmony, Cordelia's friend, asked her.

"No, we're going to the _other_ cool place in Sunnydale."

Harmony was confused.

Cordelia looked at her. "Of course, we're going to the Bronze. Friday night? No cover? But you should have been there last night, 'cause I ran into Buffy, and can she be any weirder? She attacked me! Do you believe it?"

Harmony sighed. "I think we did this part wrong."

"Why do we have to devise these programs? Isn't that what nerds are for?" Cordelia asked.

Harmony shrugged. Cordelia found Harmony, who had blonde hair and blue eyes, attractive and cool but utterly useless. She almost wished Tara was here.

Cordelia stared at her screen. "Okay, and then pattern run, right? Or go to end? That's it!"

"Maybe!" Harmony added.

Cordelia looked at her. "So, anyway, I come outta the bathroom, and she comes running at me. Screaming! With a stick! 'I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna kill you!' I swear!"

"Who?" Harmony asked.

"Buffy!"

"The new girl?" Harmony asked. "What's her deal?"

"Well, she's crazed. She's a psycho loony!"

Harmony thought for a moment. "She's not a psycho. You don't even know her."

Cordelia was surprised. "Excuse me?"

"She saved my life last night."

"For real?" Cordelia asked.

Harmony nodded. "Her and Tara."

Cordelia was shocked. "Okay, I need details."

Harmony paused in consideration. "I went off with a guy that turned out to be a creep. He took me to the cemetery. Buffy...handled him, and Tara and I helped some guy out of there, but I don't know what happened to him."

Cordelia sat in stunned silence, not knowing how to process that. Finally, she frowned. "You went to the Bronze without me?!"

* * *

Down in the tunnels, Buffy and Tara were still searching.

"They're close."

"How can you tell?" Tara asked.

"No more rats."

Tara spotted Jesse on the ground. "Jesse!"

"Oh, no!" Buffy exclaimed.

Jesse quickly got to his feet.

"Jesse, are you okay?" Tara asked him.

"I am not okay - on an _epic_ scale."

Buffy noticed the shackles around Jesse's ankle.

"We gotta get outta here!" Jesse exclaimed.

"It's cool, Buffy's a superhero."

"Hold on." Buffy broke the shackles.

"Do you think anyone heard that?" Tara asked.

They saw shadows moving on the walls and started to run down the tunnel.

"They knew you were gonna come. They said that I...I was the bait."

Tara rolled her eyes. "Oh, great, _now_ you tell us."

They rounded a corner and were met by vampires.

"Oops!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Do you know another way out?" Buffy asked him.

"I dunno. Maybe. C'mon!"

They ran. At another intersection, they saw eyes to their right.

"Wait, wait. They brought me through here. There. There should be a way up. I hope!"

Jesse led them to a chamber.

"I don't think this is the way out!" Buffy yelled.

"We can't fight our way back through those things. What do we do?" Tara asked.

"I got an idea." Jesse bared his fangs. "You can die!"

Tara stared at him in shock and sadness. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? I feel good! I feel strong! I'm connected to everything!"

Buffy began struggling with the door, trying to close it.

"I know what the Master wants. I'll serve his purpose. That means you die. And I feed."

Buffy looked back at them in anguish. "Tara, take my cross!"

She couldn't reach it, but Buffy's words gave Tara an idea. She held her crescent moon pendant up to Jesse's face. Jesse stepped back and growled.

Buffy shrugged. "Or _that'll_ work, too, apparently."

Jesse knocked Tara's arm to the side, making her hit the wall. He jumped to the other side of the room, facing Tara. Buffy grabbed him from behind and threw him out of the chamber and into the advancing vampires, knocking them all down. She went back to trying to close the door.

"Help me!" Buffy yelled to Tara.

Tara jumped up to help, and together they got it to move. They closed it on a vampire's arm. The vampire pulled its arm back out of the door, and Buffy slammed it shut and closed the latch. The vampires began pounding on the door.

"We need to get out of here!" Buffy exclaimed.

She and Tara desperately looked around.

Tara spotted a grate in the ceiling. "Up there!"

Buffy leaped on top of a barrel and began to pry the grate open. The vampires started to bend in a corner of the door. They twisted it and pushed it in further.

Buffy got the grate open. "Go!"

She helped Tara crawl up into a ventilation duct. Tara got through the grate. Buffy followed her quickly, a vampire right behind her. Tara and Buffy crawled like mad. Tara found a ladder up to a manhole and started climbing the rungs. Buffy followed.

Tara pushed open the manhole cover and climbed out into daylight in the middle of a power substation. She turned to help Buffy out. The vampire grabbed Buffy's ankle and tried to pull her back down.

"Tara, pull!" Buffy begged.

Tara pulled on her, and the vampire's hand was exposed to the sunlight and burned. The vampire let go. Tara tumbled backward to the ground, and Buffy landed on top of her. They stared at each other for a moment.

Buffy cleared her throat and gave Tara a smile. "Thank you. I'm glad you came."

Tara smiled back at her. "Me, too."


	7. Chapter 7

By the time that Buffy and Tara got back to school, the last class of the day was over. They went into the library, where Giles was still doing his research.

"Buffy? Tara?" Giles asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah."

"Did you find Jesse?" Giles asked.

Tara sighed. "Yeah."

Giles stared at them for a moment. "Was he dead?"

"Worse." Buffy sat down at the end of the table. "We were too late. And they were waiting for us."

Giles sighed. "At least you two are okay."

Tara sat to Buffy's left at the table and looked at the book that Giles was reading. "Did you find anything of interest?"

"Perhaps. I searched through the old newspapers around the time of the big earthquake back in 1937. For several months before, there were a rash of murders."

"Great!" Tara caught herself. "I - I mean, well, not great in a good way." She paused awkwardly. "Go on."

"Well, they were the kind that I was looking for." Giles showed them the newspapers. "Throats, blood. It's all coming together. I rather wish it weren't."

"So, Giles!" Buffy suddenly exclaimed. "Got anything that can make this day any worse?"

Giles went over to the whiteboard and put down his pen. "How about the end of the world?"

"Knew I could count on you."

"This is what we know. Some sixty years ago, a very old, very powerful vampire came to this shore, not just to feed."

Buffy raised her hand. "He came 'cause this town's a mystical whosit."

"Yes. The Spanish who first settled here called it 'Boca del Infierno'. Roughly translated, 'Hellmouth'. It's a sort of, um, portal between this reality and the next. This vampire hopes to open it."

Buffy nodded. "Bring the demons back."

Tara went pale. "End of the world."

"Fortunately, he didn't succeed. There was an earthquake that swallowed half the town, including him. You see, opening dimensional portals is a tricky business. Odds are he got himself stuck, rather like a, uh, cork in a bottle."

Tara made the connection. "And this Harvest thing is to get him out."

"It comes once in a century - on this night. The Master can draw power from one of his minions while it feeds. Enough power to break free and open the portal. The minion is called the Vessel, and he bears this symbol." Giles picked up a marker, uncapped it, and drew a three-pointed star on the whiteboard.

Buffy thought about it. "So...I dust anyone sporting that symbol, and no Harvest."

"Simply put, yes."

"Any idea where this little get-together is being held?" Buffy asked.

"There - There are a number of possibilities."

Tara had a sudden realization. "They're goin' to the Bronze."

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked her.

"Come on. All those tasty young morsels all over the place? That's where they're gonna be, trust me."

Giles grabbed his coat and started out of the library. Buffy and Tara began to follow.

Giles put on his coat. "Then we should get there. The sun will be down before long."

"I gotta make a stop. Won't take long."

Giles looked at Buffy in surprise. "What for?"

"Garlic. You didn't give me any."

* * *

Buffy got a clove of garlic from her refrigerator, and then she went up to her room. She went to her closet and pulled out a heavy black jacket.

Her mother walked into the room. "Buffy?"

Buffy was startled and looked at her. "Mom!"

"You're going out?"

"I have to." Buffy put on her jacket.

"I didn't hear you come in last night."

"I was really quiet."

"It's happening again, isn't it? I got a call from your new principal. Says you missed some classes today?"

"I was running an errand."

"We haven't finished unpacking, and I'm getting calls from the principal."

"Mom, I promise, it is _not_ gonna be like before. But I _have_ to go."

"No."

"Mom?!"

"The tapes all say I should get used to saying it. No."

"This is really, really important."

"I know. If you don't go out, it'll be the end of the world. Everything is life or death when you're a teenage girl."

"Look, I don't have time to talk about this-"

"Buffy, you've got all the time in the world; you're not going anywhere. Now, if you wanna stay up here and sulk, I won't hold it against you. But if you wanna come down, I'll make us some dinner."

Buffy's mind raced as she considered her options. She thought of telling her mother everything quickly, but she couldn't prove it at the moment, and her mother would likely take it as a sign of lunacy. She felt confident that she could successfully knock her mother out cold. She could also just forcefully brush past her. However, assuming she managed to save the world tonight, she would have to live with the consequences of her actions, and her life would be more difficult as a result. She balled her hands into fists, pressed her fingernails into her palms, and kept her mouth shut.

Joyce left the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

Buffy couldn't believe what just happened. She leaned against the closet door, took a deep breath, and exhaled. "Fuck it."

She went over to her door to make sure her mother wasn't nearby. Then she walked over and climbed out the window onto the roof. She crawled to the edge, carefully stood up, took a deep breath, and jumped down. She had never done this before and wasn't sure of her success, but she managed to land on her feet and seemingly not break any bones, though it still hurt. She silently thanked her karate lessons and then headed to the Bronze.

* * *

Inside the Bronze, on the upper level, Cordelia and her friends found a table.

"Senior boys are the only way to go. Guys from our grade, forget about it; they're children, y'know?" Cordelia asked.

They all sat down.

"Like Jesse. Did you see him last night, following me around like a little puppy dog?"

They all giggled.

"You just wanna put him to sleep. But senior boys, hmm, they have mystery. They have..." Cordelia paused in consideration. "What's the word I'm searching for? Cars! I just am not the type to settle. Y'know? It's like when I go shopping. I have to have the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more."

One of her friends was confused. "You know, I-"

"Hello, Miss Motormouth, can I get a sentence finished?" Cordelia interrupted. "Oh, I love this song! Come on!"

Cordelia and her gang stood up, made their way down to the dance floor, and started to move to the sound of the song that was playing on the speakers.

Once the song was over, Cordelia stopped dancing. She started to leave, but Jesse was standing in front of her, fingers on his lips.

"Uh, what do you want?" Cordelia asked him.

Another song started. Jesse lowered his hand, took hers, and led her back onto the dance floor.

"Hey! Hello! Caveman brain! What are you doing?" Cordelia protested.

"Shut up!" Jesse began to dance with her.

Cordelia relented. "Well, just one dance."

Suddenly, the power shut off. The people started complaining and wondering what happened.

Luke got up on the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen! There is no cause for alarm. Actually, there _is_ cause for alarm. It just won't do any good." He bared his fangs and laughed.

There were screams from the crowd.

Cordelia was confused. "I thought there wasn't any band tonight." She looked at Jesse next to her.

Jesse smiled at her and bared his fangs. Cordelia inhaled in fright.

"This is a glorious night!" Luke declared. "It is also the last one any of you shall ever see. Bring me the first."

A vampire brought the doorman to Luke.

"What do you guys want, man, huh?" the doorman asked. "You want money? Man, what's wrong with your teeth?"

Luke grabbed him by the throat. He wrapped his other arm around the doorman's head. "Watch me, people. Fear is like an elixir. It's almost like blood."

Luke bit the doorman and fed on him. The doorman screamed.

Luke dropped the doorman's body. "Next!"


	8. Chapter 8

Outside, Buffy, Tara, and Giles arrived running.

Buffy tried the door. "It's locked!"

"We're too late!" Giles exclaimed.

"I didn't know I was gonna get grounded!" Buffy explained.

"Can you break it down?" Tara asked her.

Buffy tried a roundhouse kick on the door. "Ow! Fuck! Nope! Um..." She paused in thought for a moment. "You guys try the back entrance, and I'll find my own way."

"Right." Giles headed off. "Come on."

"Uh, wait! Guys! Here!" Buffy took out a stake and a bottle of holy water and handed them to Tara. "You get the exit cleared and the people out. That's all! Don't go _Wild Bunch_ on me."

Giles nodded. "Uh, see you inside, then."

Giles and Tara ran around to the back.

Tara tried the door. "Shit! It's locked, too!"

* * *

Inside, Luke had finished with the latest male that he'd drained and dropped his body. Cordelia watched in horror. Darla took hold of Cordelia to take her to Luke.

"This one's mine!" Jesse told Darla.

"They're all for the Master."

"Until he's freed, the priority is on the males. They have more vitality."

Cordelia looked at Darla and frantically nodded in agreement. "Yes, listen to your friend!"

Darla pulled on Cordelia.

Jesse let go of her. "I don't get one?"

Buffy broke an upper window and crawled into the building.

"I feel the Master's strength growing!" Luke exclaimed.

Buffy saw Luke on the stage.

"I feel him rising. Every soul brings him closer! I need another!"

Buffy came to a realization. "The Vessel."

The vampire on the upper level saw Buffy and growled. She looked over at him.

"Tonight is his ascension. Tonight will be history at its end!" Luke declared. "Yours is a glorious sacrifice! Degradation most holy. What? No volunteers?!"

Darla brought him Cordelia. "Here's a pretty one."

Cordelia screamed when she saw Luke up close. He caressed her face. He was about to bite her when Buffy kicked the vampire down from above them. Luke watched him land with a thud.

Buffy approached the railing. "Oh, I'm sorry, were you in the middle of something?"

"You!" Luke exclaimed.

"You didn't think I'd miss this, did you?" Buffy asked him.

"I hoped you'd come."

"Be right down!" Buffy stepped away from the railing and executed a roundoff to get down. She landed on a pool table.

A vampire attacked from her right. Buffy did a front walkover off the table, grabbing a pool cue on the way. When she landed, she thrust it into her attacker. Cordelia stared at her in shock.

"Okay, Vessel boy." Buffy removed her jacket. "You want blood?"

"I want yours!" Luke released Cordelia. "Only yours!"

Buffy shrugged. "Works for me."

She ran and cartwheeled up onto the stage - and immediately launched into a full spinning hook kick. Luke staggered into a pile of chairs. Buffy assumed a fighting position. Luke got up and growled. He came at her and swung, but she ducked the punch and came up behind him. He tried a backhand punch, but she blocked him, held onto his arm, and gave him three roundhouse kicks to his stomach before he shook loose. She took out a stake and lunged at him. He blocked the lunge, knocking the stake from her grip. He lifted her up and threw her into a pile of boxes.

Giles and Tara finally managed to bust open the back door.

"Hurry!" Giles exclaimed, running inside.

Tara ran in to see what was going on. She saw Buffy was down and froze in shock. Then Buffy got up.

Tara breathed a sigh of relief and turned her attention to the crowd. "C'mon! Let's go!"

Giles guided the people to the back door. "Hurry up! Come on! Through this door! Come on! This way!"

Buffy spun around and landed a backhand punch on Luke's face, knocking him into another pile of stuff. He was dazed. Buffy turned to see a vampire grab Tara. Buffy grabbed a cymbal from a drum set and threw it at the vampire like a Frisbee. Tara saw it coming and ducked. The cymbal decapitated the vampire. Buffy flinched and felt a bit sick. Luke grabbed her from behind.

"I always wanted to kill a Slayer!" Luke exclaimed.

Giles and Tara were still guiding people out.

"One at a time! Quickly! Quickly!" Giles crossed to the other side of the room in front of some stairs. "We're going to have to open the front as well!"

Darla leaped onto him from behind, knocking him to the floor.

"Master! Taste of this...and be free!" Luke roared and moved in to bite Buffy.

She sensed his proximity and snapped her head back to land a headbutt on his face, knocking him off her and back to the wall. She turned to him, winded. "How'd it taste?"

Giles and Darla were struggling on the floor.

Tara approached them while opening her jar of holy water. "Get off him!"

Darla was distracted and looked up. Tara splashed her with the holy water. It burned her face and steamed. She got up and ran from the club, screaming.

Tara noticed Cordelia was on the floor with Jesse above her. She struggled, and he grabbed her arms.

"Hold still! You're not making this easy!" Luke told her.

Tara came up behind him, her stake in her left hand. "Hey, asshole."

Jesse turned around and stood up. Tara pointed her stake at Jesse's chest and gulped.

Jesse looked at Tara and laughed. "What the fuck are _you_ gonna do? Stake me? Put me out of my misery? You don't have the guts."

Tara was angered by that comment and thrust the stake into his heart. Jesse groaned and fell to the floor. Tara breathed heavily, trying to compose herself, and then she looked at Cordelia, who was staring up at her in shock.

Tara offered her right hand to Cordelia. "Are you okay?"

Cordelia nodded and took hold of Tara's hand. "Yeah. Thank you."

Tara gave her a weak smile and helped Cordelia to her feet.

Buffy grabbed a microphone stand and held it like a javelin.

Luke smiled. "You forget: metal can't hurt me."

"There's something _you_ forgot about, too. Sunrise!" Buffy threw the stand at the window behind Luke.

He ducked, and it broke the window behind him. A bright light poured in through it. Buffy spied the stake that she dropped on the stage and picked it up. Luke got up and shielded his face with his hands, expecting to be burned. He stopped when he realized it was only a bright lamp.

Buffy lunged at him from behind and jammed the stake into his back. "It's in about nine hours, moron!"

Luke began to stagger off the stage and then just fell off. Buffy stared at Luke's corpse. Two vampires approached Tara and Cordelia. Buffy lifted her gaze to meet theirs. The vampires panicked and ran away.

Buffy hopped down to the floor. Tara, Cordelia, and Giles met her.

Giles looked at Buffy. "I take it it's over."

"Did we win?" Tara asked.

Buffy shrugged. "Well, we averted the apocalypse. I give us points for that."

"Okay, what the fuck is going on?" Cordelia demanded. "Were those really-"

"Vampires." Buffy sighed. "It's a long story, but the short version is I'm the Slayer, chosen to fight the forces of evil."

"Chosen by who?" Cordelia asked her.

Buffy opened her mouth to reply but then realized she didn't have an answer. She looked to Giles, who simply shrugged.

Buffy looked at Cordelia. "Cordy, this is a very serious - and potentially very messy and complicated - situation. Don't blab."

"Are you nuts? Do you think I would tell people that I spent the whole evening with _you_?" Cordelia asked her. "Besides, it was all so creepy. That Luke guy? And all the screaming? I don't even want to think about it. So your secret's safe with me."

Buffy smiled. "Thank you."

Cordelia smiled back at her.

"What about everyone else?" Tara asked. "There must be been dozens of witnesses."

Buffy, Giles, and Tara thought about it in silence for a moment.

Buffy finally shrugged. "Well, come what may, I suppose."

Cordelia grinned. "You forget: most people are fucking idiots with malleable marshmallow fluff for minds, and I'm the motherfucking Queen Bee. I'll run interference for you."

Buffy guessed that was the best that they could hope for. She looked around at the carnage, and a feeling of melancholia overtook her. "One thing's for sure: nothing's ever gonna be the same."

* * *

Buffy wondered how she was going to climb back up to her bedroom. Luckily for her, the back door had been left unlocked, and her mother never suspected she'd been out.

Buffy spent the weekend worrying, but no one called or came by to question her, so she slowly started to calm down.

On Monday morning, at Sunnydale High, everything seemed normal, which surprised her. Buffy walked along and overheard Cordelia.

"Well, _I_ heard it was rival gangs. You know, fighting for turf? I mean...I don't even remember that much, but I'm telling you: it was a freak show!"

"Oh, I wish I'd been there!" one of her female friends exclaimed.

"You _should_ have been there. It was so creepy." As Cordelia walked past Buffy with her friend, she quickly gave Buffy a thumbs-up.

Buffy smiled at her and mouthed "Thank you", and then she met Tara. "What, exactly, were you expecting?"

"I don't know. Something. I mean...the dead rose. We should at least have an assembly."

Buffy smiled. "Well, we can thank the motherfucking Queen Bee for making our lives a little easier."

They ran into Giles, and the three continued to walk.

"I managed to wipe the tapes from the Bronze's security cameras." Giles pushed up his glasses. "As to the live witnesses, people have a tendency to rationalize what they can and forget what they can't."

Tara remembered killing Jesse and shuddered. "Well, _I'll_ never forget it. None of it."

"Good!" Giles exclaimed. "Next time, you'll be prepared."

"Next time?" Tara asked him.

"We've prevented the Master from freeing himself and opening the Mouth of Hell. That's not to say he's going to stop trying. I'd say the fun is just beginning."

"More vampires?" Tara asked.

They stopped walking.

"Not just vampires. The next threat we face may be something quite different."

Buffy forced a smile. "I can hardly wait!"

"We're at the center of a mystical convergence here. We may, in fact, stand between the Earth and its total destruction."

Buffy grinned. "Well, I gotta look on the bright side." She put an arm around Tara. "I've made a great friend!"

Tara smiled and put an arm around Buffy. "Awww, ditto, sweetie."


	9. Chapter 9

**"The Witch"**

**Based on the Episode Written by Dana Reston**

The following story is copyright © 2021 by Mark Moore.

* * *

Buffy had decided to try out for the cheerleading squad. She got dressed up in a uniform, went to the library at Sunnydale High School, and told Giles of her plan.

His reaction wasn't what she'd been expecting.

"This is madness! What can you have been thinking? You are the Slayer! Lives depend upon you!" Giles began pacing. "I make allowances for your youth, but I expect a certain amount of responsibility, and instead of which you enslave yourself to this, this..." He stopped pacing. "Cult?"

"You don't like the color?" Buffy asked him.

"I d..." He paused, exasperated. "Do you, um..." He put some books on a cart. "Do you ignore everything I say as a, as a rule?"

"No, I believe that's _your_ trick."

Giles pushed the cart to the counter.

Buffy skipped in front of him and posed. "I told you: I'm trying out for the cheerleading squad!"

"You have a sacred birthright, Buffy. You were chosen to destroy vampires, not to...wave pompoms at people. And as the Watcher, I forbid it." He went back to the table.

"And you'll be stopping me how?" she asked.

"Well, I..." He sat on the edge of the table and crossed his arms. "By appealing to your common sense, if such a creature exists."

"I will still have time to fight the forces of evil, okay? I just wanna have a life. I wanna do something normal. Something safe."

* * *

Later, Buffy and Tara walked into the gym. Cheerleader tryouts were about to start. Girls were stretching and practicing, doing back handsprings, cartwheels, and walking handstands. One girl did a roundoff followed by a back handspring.

"Giles didn't approve, huh?" Tara asked Buffy.

"He totally lost his water. We haven't seen a vampire in over a week. I'd say he should get a girlfriend, if he wasn't so old."

Tara shrugged. "Honestly, even though I don't agree with his reasoning, I do think it's pretty pointless."

Buffy looked at her questioningly.

"Cheerleading. Learning and performing a bunch of routines to cheer on sports teams during tribalistic rituals to determine who's the 'best' at throwing a fucking ball around?" Tara shook her head. "I can't think of a bigger waste of the limited amount of time that we have in this world." She paused in consideration. "Except maybe getting into heated arguments about fictional characters and universes on the Internet."

Buffy's face twisted in confusion. "So you're saying I'm shallow?"

Tara sighed and avoided answering the question. "I know it means a lot to you, even though I don't find any value in it. I'm here to support you, because we're friends."

"Thanks."

They noticed a girl named Amber, who had dark brown hair, doing the splits between two chairs.

"Oh, hey!" Tara took a bracelet out of her jeans pocket and offered it to Buffy. "Here's a good luck charm for tryouts."

Buffy took the bracelet and examined it. It was silver and had a triple moon symbol on it. "Oh, how sweet!" She put the bracelet on her left wrist.

Cordelia approached them. "Just look at that Amber. Who does she think she is, a Laker Girl?"

Joy, the black-haired cheerleading squad leader, stepped up with her clipboard. "Okay, listen up! Let's begin with Amber Grove. If you're not auditioning, move off the floor."

"Amy! Hi!" Tara called.

Amy Madison, a beautiful girl with long black hair, came over. "Hi!"

"I didn't know you wanted to be a cheerleader. You lost a lot of weight."

"Had to."

"Do you know Buffy?" Tara asked her.

Amy looked at Buffy. "Hi."

"Hi."

Amy looked at Amber. "Oh, how I hate this. Let me count the ways."

"Twilight Zone" by 2 Unlimited started playing.

Buffy looked at Tara and Amy and smiled. "Let Mortal Kombat begin!"

Tara and Amy laughed.

Amber began her routine. It was very athletic. She started off with a needle split lift, followed by a double spin and a jumping double spin. After landing, Amber launched herself into an aerial and a cartwheel. Jazz slides were then followed by a single spin. Everyone in the gym was intent on watching her.

Amy looked at Buffy. "She trained with Benson. He's one of the best coaches money can buy."

"They have cheerleading coaches?" Buffy asked her in surprise.

"Oh, yeah! Don't you have? I train with my mom: three hours in the morning, three at night."

Buffy smiled dementedly. "Hmm, that much quality time with my mom would probably lead to some quality matricide."

"Oh, I know it's hokey, but she's really great."

Cordelia turned away from Amber with a look of contempt on her face. "Hmph!"

Buffy watched Amber in amazement. Amy and Tara were impressed, too. Amber's hands began to smoke.

"What the fuck?" Buffy asked.

"That girl's on fire!" Tara exclaimed.

Cordelia was facing away and didn't see the smoke. "Enough of the hyperbole!"

Amber's hands caught fire. She dropped her pompoms and screamed. Amber flailed her hands in the air. Buffy jumped up onto the stands and pulled down a banner. She ran back to Amber, knocked her down, and snuffed out the flames with the banner. Everyone stared in shock.

Holding her close, Buffy tried to comfort Amber. "It's okay, it's okay, you're gonna be...okay."

* * *

Later, in the library, Tara was sitting at the table, watching Buffy pace in front of her.

Buffy sighed. "I've seen some pretty cringeworthy things recently, but...nobody's hands ever got toasted before."

Giles came out of the cage. "I imagine not."

Buffy came to a stop and ran her hands through her hair. "So, this isn't a vampire problem."

"No."

Buffy turned to Giles. "But it is funky, right? Not of the norm?"

"Quite. Spontaneous human combustion is - is rare and - and scientifically unexplainable, but there have been cases for hundreds of years. Usually, all that's left is a pile of ashes."

Tara looked at Giles. "That's all that _would_ have been left, if it hadn't been for Buffy."

Buffy sighed. "So we have no idea what caused this. That's a comfort."

"But that's the thrill of living on the Hellmouth!" Giles sat on the edge of the table. "There's a veritable cornucopia of - of fiends and devils and - and ghouls to engage."

Buffy and Tara stared at him.

Giles shrugged. "Pardon me for finding the glass half full."

"Any common denominators in cases of spontaneous combustion?" Buffy asked him.

"Uh, rage. In most cases, the person who combusted was - was terribly angry or - or upset."

Tara thought about it. "So maybe Amber's got this power to make herself be on fire."

"I need to get the skinny on Amber. Find out if she's had any colorful episodes before. I'll ask around about her." Buffy started to walk away.

Tara stood up and walked over to Buffy. "I'll hack into the school's computer system."

Buffy looked at her. "You don't have to get involved. I don't like putting you in danger."

"I can handle myself."

Buffy stared at her for a moment. "Okay, just walk softly - at least until we know a little more. I mean...what if Amber isn't causing these problems herself?"

Giles looked at them. "Well, then we have to determine who or what did and, uh, deal with it accordingly."

* * *

After school, Buffy came home and entered through the kitchen. There were several wooden boxes and crates on the counter. Joyce was trying to pry one open with a crowbar.

"Hey!" Buffy greeted.

"Hi, how was school?" her mother asked.

"Mm, a reverent joy. What's all this?"

"It's for the tribal art display."

"Cool!" Buffy examined a piece. "We had tryouts today."

"Oh, great! How'd it go?"

"I didn't actually get to try out. There was an accident. Pretty fierce competition, though."

"Oh, I know you'll do fine. Keep on pluggin'. Just have to get back on the horse."

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"What was I trying out for?"

"Oh, uh..." Joyce stopped prying at the crate and looked at Buffy. "Some activity? I have no idea. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. Your platitudes are good for all occasions."

Joyce sighed. "I'm distracted." She started prying again and grunted. "Got a lotta inventory to go through here." She grunted again. "This is my gallery's first major show." She sighed and gave up. "You know, it might not physically kill you to give me a hand here." She went to check her clipboard.

Buffy grabbed the lid of the crate and effortlessly tore it off. "It was cheerleading."

"Oh good! I'm glad you're taking that up again; it'll keep you out of trouble."

"I'm not _in_ trouble."

"No, not yet."

Buffy was hurt and got angry.

Her mother looked up from her clipboard and noticed. "I mean...you stopped cheerleading just before the trouble, so it's good you're going back." She came back to the crate and partially lifted out a statue. "Oh, dear."

"What?"

"The fertility statue. You don't need to see it." Joyce replaced the crate's lid and went back to her clipboard.

Buffy rolled her eyes, smiled, and shook her head. "Y'know, there's this girl, Amy, and, um, she trains with her mom, like, three hours a day."

"Uh-huh."

"Sounds like her mom's pretty into it."

"Sounds like her mom doesn't have a lot to do." Joyce walked out of the kitchen with a piece of art.

* * *

The next day, tryouts resumed in the gym.

Joy was pacing. "Despite the terrible thing that happened yesterday, we still have to pick new cheerleaders. If you make the team, you'll find your names posted in the quad after lunch. Let's begin with group performance."

Amy looked at Buffy. "Why do my hands have to sweat when I get nervous?"

Buffy looked at Amy. "Don't worry. You'll do great."

"Five, six, seven, eight!" Joy called.

The girls started performing their routine. "Sunnydale! Sunnydale! We never fail! We never fail! Jump and shoot! Swish and score! The other team is such a bore! Yeah!"

Amy blew the cartwheel and crashed into Cordelia.

Cordelia yelped as she fell and then quickly got up. "You saw that, right? That wasn't me! You saw that, right?" She looked at Amy and back again. "Right?"

* * *

After tryouts, in the hallway, Buffy saw Amy admiring the trophies in the case with a longing look. Buffy came up next to her.

Amy noticed her, smiled, and pointed to a picture in the case. "That's my mom!"

"No!" Buffy looked at the inscription. "Catherine Madison. Get down with your bad self!"

"Her nickname was Catherine the Great. She took that team and made them tri-county champions. Y'know, no one's ever done that before - or since. She and my dad were Homecoming King and Queen. They got married right after graduation."

"That's kinda romantic."

"Well, he was a big loser. Never made any money. Ran off with Miss Trailer Trash when I was twelve."

"Okay, that part's less romantic. My folks split up, too."

"Drag, huh? Uh, he left my mom with nothing. She put herself through cosmetology school." Amy smiled. "Bought me everything I ever wanted." She shook her head. "And never once gained a single pound."

Buffy walked around to face Amy. "Uh, she sounds really great, Amy, but, um, it doesn't mean that you need to lock step as far as this cheerleading thing."

"She was the best! And I can't get my body to _move_ like hers! I choked in there so bad!"

"No, Amy, you did fine."

Amy walked away, dejected. "I'm gonna get changed."

"Wait!" Buffy called. "No..."

Tara walked by. "Hey, Amy!" She came over to Buffy. "Is she okay?"

"No, she's - she's wiggin' about her mom, big cheer queen back when."

"Yeah, her mom's kinda-"

"Nazi-like?" Buffy guessed.

"Ja. If she gains an ounce, she padlocks the fridge and won't eat anything but broth."

"So, mommy dearest is really...Mommy Dearest?" Buffy asked her.

"There's a bitter streak. But Amy's nice. We used to hang in Junior High. When her mom would go on a broth kick, Amy'd come over to my house, and we'd stuff ourselves with brownies!"

They started walking down the hall.

"Hey, any word on Amber?" Buffy asked Tara.

"Nothing thrilling. Average student. Got detention once - for smoking."

Buffy thought about it. "Hmm."

"All pretty normal."

"So we just have to wait and we'll see what happens. Maybe nothing will."

* * *

In the girls' locker room, Cordelia changed into her regular clothes and walked over to Amy. Amy closed her locker and started to go but was surprised by Cordelia.

"I have a dream. It's me on the cheerleading squad, adored by every varsity male as far as the eye can see! We have to achieve our dreams, Amy. Otherwise we...wither and die!" Cordelia told her.

"Look, I'm sorry about-"

"Shhh! If your supreme klutziness out there today takes me out of the running, you're gonna be so _very_ beyond sorry!" Cordelia smiled. "Have a nice day."

Cordelia turned and left. She threw her scrunchie into her open locker and slammed the door as she rounded the corner.

* * *

After lunch, a crowd gathered in front of the bulletin board in the quad as Joy posted the list of names for the cheerleading squad. Buffy and Amy were at the back. A girl rushed away in tears.

Amy shook her head. "I can't take this."

Joy stepped away from posting the list on the bulletin board.

Lishanne Davis saw her name on the list. "Yes!"

Cordelia came out of the crowd and looked at Amy. "You're lucky!"

"I made it?" Amy asked her.

" _I_ made it!" Cordelia told her.

Buffy and Amy waited until the crowd cleared, and then they walked over to the bulletin board and looked at the list.

Buffy was a bit disappointed. "I'm the first alternate."

"And I'm number three." Amy looked at Buffy, badly disappointed, and walked away.

Buffy walked with Amy. "At least, it's over. And you know what I think we should do about it? Brownie pig-out, my house, after school."

"It's just how many more hours a day can I practice? Y'know, how much more can I do?" Amy asked her. "This would never happen to my mother. Never." She walked off.

Buffy stared after her in concern.


End file.
